[Insight & Opinion] There Is Nothing Between Reinstatement and Dismissal

Emergence of Compromise Theories Amidst Impeachment Divide
Voluntary Resignation and Term Reduction Constitutional Amendment
A Clear Binary Choice Needed, Not Clumsy Harmony

The Confucian culture, which aims for harmony and unity, still remains in Korean politics. Even when opinions for and against clash with no common ground, there is a persistent effort to find a middle point somehow. In the recent impeachment trial of President Yoon Seok-yeol, voices opposing impeachment grew significantly. The scale of anti-impeachment rallies and public opinion polls confirm this. Consequently, the mindset of moderation (中庸), which tries to reconcile opposition and support for impeachment, is being activated without hesitation.

The voluntary resignation theory suggests that "before the Constitutional Court decides on impeachment, President Yoon should step down voluntarily." Kim Sang-wook, a member of the People Power Party who supported the impeachment motion, advocates this view. The voluntary resignation theory also includes ideas like "dismissing the impeachment on the premise of the president's immediate resignation." The constitutional amendment theory for term reduction proposes that "after dismissal of the impeachment, President Yoon shortens his term to mid-next year and holds local elections and a referendum on a decentralized constitutional amendment together."

Both the voluntary resignation theory and the constitutional amendment theory aim to reduce the conflict between pro- and anti-impeachment factions and mediate between the two. However, in Asian countries like China today, politics of harmony and moderation have often been used to temporarily conceal problems. In the mid- to long-term, social systems tend to deteriorate further.

There is no middle ground between President Yoon’s return to office and dismissal. Trying to compromise the uncompromisable only leads to another, bigger problem. Regarding the voluntary resignation theory, Yoon Seok-yeol himself can forfeit the entire remaining term. However, resignation is essentially a practical surrender that only gains a slight appearance of face and justification. The anger of the anti-impeachment protesters will be directed at Yoon Seok-yeol. They will see him as "disregarding the social system change nature of this crisis and throwing away the presidency as if it were his private property, thereby putting conservatism in jeopardy."

In the case of the term reduction constitutional amendment theory, Yoon Seok-yeol can say he will significantly shorten his term. However, giving up half of the remaining term or the entire term is a difference without a distinction. Can a president who extends his term partially in exchange for agreeing with the impeachment logic govern the country well? Term reduction will provoke resentment from both anti- and pro-impeachment groups.

Some ruling party lawmakers say, in their own words, that they were deceived by a treason frame and agreed to the president’s impeachment motion. Even if treason is excluded from the Constitutional Court’s impeachment trial, the ruling party does not respond significantly. Can the "half-returned plant president" and the "judgmentally confused and divided ruling party" properly carry out constitutional amendments against the opposition party with overwhelming seats? Will they only do a one-point constitutional amendment for a four-year two-term system? As the line from the movie Parasite goes, everyone has a plan, but most plans do not go as intended. If eight more ruling party lawmakers switch sides, the opposition can pass the constitutional amendment as they wish. The conservative base may painfully witness the national system they have taken for granted change in a way opposite to their expectations. A unilateral constitutional amendment by the opposition is also not good for the progressive camp.

Compromising between return and dismissal is neither just nor beneficial. Neither option works. Society could fall into a massive whirlpool, a black hole. What is needed is a clear binary choice, not a clumsy harmony. Yet, compromise movements emerge from the conservative political sphere. This movement is connected to the centrist dogmatism that "opposing impeachment loses the moderate voters." Chasing the middle ground without self-confidence and reflection is a chronic disease of conservative politics.

In the progressive political sphere, Yoon Seok-yeol’s return is described as a "disaster" (Kim Yi-su, co-leader of the impeachment motion group). If impeachment is dismissed without preconditions, it cannot soothe the feelings of those who see it as a disaster, but Yoon will have the opportunity to function again as president.

Heo Man-seop, Professor at Gangneung-Wonju National University